Hundreds turn out in Ogle County for Hands Off rally in protest of President Trump’s decisions

OREGON — Several hundred people lined the north and east sidewalks around the historic Ogle County Courthouse Saturday afternoon to let everyone know how they feel about recent actions and decisions by President Donald Trump and his billionaire consultant Elon Musk.

“People are showing up here today,” said Mae Furman of Rochelle, one of the event’s organizers.

Furman and Jan Buttron of Chana organized the 2-hour event. Both are members of Indivisible of Ogle County, the local chapter of the Indivisible Project network – a grassroots organization founded in 2016.

The Ogle County chapter is part of Indivisible Illinois, formed in 2017, and “reflects the Heart of the Midwest by promoting an equity agenda in pursuit of liberty and justice for all.”

Buttron said she met with officials from the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon Police Department, Oregon Fire Protection District, and City of Oregon prior to Saturday’s event.

“They told us we should stay off the grass, on the sidewalks, but not blocking the sidewalks,” Buttron said. “They worked with us and we made sure everyone safe. Indivisible is nonviolent. We just want to protect our democracy.”

Attendees of Saturday’s event in Oregon held a wide variety of homemade signs criticizing President Trump’s policies and recent executive orders eliminating programs and agencies that he says are designed to eliminate government waste.

Some held signs declaring “Hands Off Social Security” while others disagreed with the administration’s policies on immigration, Greenland, Canada, and Ukraine. Others proclaimed Musk should be “fired” or “deported.”

Motorists who traversed the busy intersection of state routes 64 and 2 through the city’s downtown were encouraged to honk their horns in support. A couple of pickup trucks with Trump flags in their beds passed through the intersection revving their engines during the event and one Tesla vehicle was booed as it drove past.

Buttron, an attorney, said President Trump is breaking the laws of democracy. “We know the law and we can see clearly that he is breaking the law,” Buttron said. “He is defying the law.”

Furman, who is also on the executive committee for the Ogle County Democrats, was pleased with Saturday’s turnout. “We had 149 people sign up and more than 400 are here,” Furman said.

Joe Albright of Peoria came to the rally because he has decided to run for the 16th Congressional District – a seat currently held by Republican Darin LaHood.

“Everything they are saying is false,” said Albright, a Princeton native who said he holds a degree in accounting and teaches economics. “The tariffs are wrong. We know they are very limited tools. And they [elected representatives] are letting Trump make all the decisions.”

Mary Francis, of Mt. Morris, characterized the Trump administration’s recent efforts to eliminate federal programs and agencies, like the Department of Education, as alarming.

“All the programs and services that come out of the federal government,” said Francis, a retired educator, as she listed her concerns. “Just letting the school districts flounder without direction...and all the marginalized students. Kids with special needs not getting the help they need just breaks my heart.”

Indivisible Illinois is part of the locally led, people-powered Indivisible Project network, a grassroots American movement founded in 2016, with thousands of chapters across the U.S. in urban, suburban and rural communities, according to its website.

The group says its grassroots power comes from working in solidarity and in coalition with others and lists its values as inclusion, respect and nonviolence.

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Around 400 people took part in the Hands Off rally held around the historic Ogle County Courthouse in Oregon on Saturday, April 5, 2025. The rally was one of many held across the United States for people wanting to speak out about recent actions and decisions by President Donald Trump. The event in Ogle County was organized by Indivisible of Ogle County. (Earleen Hinton)